Robert E. Sherwood Movies
Multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert E. Sherwood got his start in journalism as a critic and editor for both Life magazine and the New York Herald. In addition to having his plays adapted to the screen by others, Sherwood also penned or co-penned screenplays. His story for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) earned Sherwood an Oscar for Best Screenplay. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1931
Mae Clarke had the best role of her career as the heroine of Waterloo Bridge, the first of three filmizations of Robert L. Sherwood's play. Douglass Montgomery (here credited as Kent Douglass) plays a young American soldier who, while on leave from World War I, meets Myra (Clarke) during an air raid in London and falls in love with her, unaware she is a prostitute. Directed with a delicate mixture of realism and impressionism by James Whale, the 1931 Waterloo Bridge is head and shoulders above its heavily laundered 1940 remake -- which in turn is vastly superior to the 1956 re-remake, Gaby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mae Clarke, Kent Douglass, (more)
A wimpy king is forced to take responsibility for his little North Sea island kingdom after his iron-fisted wife goes on a vacation to the US in this comedy. Soon after she leaves, his subjects launch a revolt and the flighty fellow must quickly figure out what to do. Things get worse when his daughter tells him that she plans to marry a commoner. Fortunately, once the king makes his decisions, things settle down and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lowell Sherman, Nance O'Neil, (more)
- 1931
Echec au Roi (The King Checkmated) was adapted from The Queen's Husband, a play by Robert E. Sherwood. The story concentrates on the amiable but ineffectual king (Emile Chautard) of a mythical island who gets more than he bargained for when his wife, the Queen (Francoise Rosay) decides to visit the U.S. While he dutifully accompanies the Queen to the States, a revolution breaks out in his own land. Adding to his headaches is the fact that his daughter, Princess Anne (Pauline Garon), insists upon marrying a commoner. Acting without the Queen's approval for the first time in his life, the King settles his island's internal problems and gives his blessing to his daughter's fiancee. Echec au Roi was the first French-language film to be released by United Artists; its English-language counterpart, The Royal Bed, had previously been distributed by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Françoise Rosay, Pauline Garon, (more)
- 1931
An early example of a "vanity" production, this feature-length documentary is comprised of glorified home movies taken by film star Douglas Fairbanks Sr. during a trip to the Orient in the company of several friends. Fairbanks doesn't exactly take us around the world, though he does offer fascinating glimpses of Japan, China, Siam and India, with a smattering of the Philippines. Very little is shown here that hasn't been seen in dozens of other travelogues; on the other hand, how many travelogues could boast shots of the middle-aged Fairbanks, still in fine fettle, performing the same athletic feats that had won him fame 15 years earlier. The audiences is apprised of Fairbanks' progress through the use of maps and a rather expensive "pointer" (actually one of Fairbank's custom-made golf clubs). Originally released as Around the World in 80 Minutes with Douglas Fairbanks, the film was released through United Artists, which Fairbanks had helped form back in 1919. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Another of Raoul Walsh's "lost" silent films, Lucky Lady stars Gretta Niessen as the title character. Convent-bred to assume her position of nobility when the time comes, Princess Antoinette (Niessen) plays hooky from school one day to attend a theatrical performance. Here she meets a handsome young American (William Collier Jr.), and it's love at first sight. Meanwhile, in the Princess' home country, the Prime Minister (Marc MacDermott) plots to quell a rebellion by arranging a marriage between Antoinette and the Grand Duke (Lionel Barrymore). Assuming that the young American is a spy for the rebels, the Prime Minister does his best to break up the Princess' romance, but love wins out over politics in the end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Greta Nissen, (more)
